Incompetent
WARNING: This story may contain sensitive subject or gore filled scenes. If you feel triggered by suicide, cannibalism, dystopian themes, etc., please exit now. Clan Code | Allegiances Prologue Don’t be fooled, being cared for and having a warm place to sleep may seem like a perfect idea. However perfection comes at high costs. To achieve such excellence you must make the proper sacrifices. Clans aren’t how they used to be, really. There’s only two now, each abiding by different rules. These regulations brainwash the minds of once proud and powerful warriors. Now instead of living by the once obeyed and praised warrior code, we are living by a set of lies. Independent thinking is unheard of, kill or be killed, and follow all rules or you’ll just a memory slowly rotting away in the minds of loved ones. Now if you do follow by the rules all is well. You won’t have any problems, you will sleep peacefully at night, you will have plenty of food in your belly, and you’ll live a long and happy life. That is… If you have no disability, you stay mindless of anything besides fighting, and you don’t question a thing. Not to mention the odds of you living past your first eight moons are nearly impossible. To be honest, this may seem a bit confusing to you. What does this mean? Why wouldn’t I last longer? Why are there so many rules? Well for starters, our Clan, the Clan of the Forest, is much different than the previous Clans. Sadly we are no longer permitted to speak of those, for even mentioning such a thing was outlawed seasons ago. We have three leaders, three deputies, three medicine cats and their apprentices. Three is a reasonable number. To keep such a Clan intact you need the perfect amount of leadership. The first leader is in charge of the Nursery. They are usually always females unless under certain circumstances. She-cats are able to understand other she-cats easier; it has always been like this. This leader makes sure that all the pregnant and nursing queens are healthy. If any signs of sickness are showed, they are moved away from the others. If the symptoms continue, they are killed. If the queen gives birth to disabled kits, she is killed and so are the kits. If the queen does not birth at least two healthy kits, she is killed along with the kits. Are you still following? Good. Let’s continue. The second leader is in charge of all the Warriors and Apprentices training to be Warriors. Warriors have any basic jobs a warrior would have, hunting, fighting, and training apprentices. Pretty basic, right? Wrong. This leader has to make sure apprentices don’t kill each other during practice; she or he must arrange the battles with the Clan of Night, and they must arrange the Ceremony of the Inept. Now, before I get on with the last leader we must explain this whole “incompetent” thing. If apprentices live past their kit moons, they are granted the title of “-paw”. Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it all before. However there is a catch. During training a lot of apprentices are injured, some even killed. If you injury will last your whole life or longer than a moon, like a broken paw, or a torn tail, you are incompetent. If a twig blinds you in one eye, or if you grow sickly, you are incompetent. Incompetency is deemed by a medicine cat. If she or he deems that you will not get better within a moon, or if your injuries will affect your life as a warrior, then you are qualified for the Ceremony of the Inept. Sometimes Warriors are admitted into this ceremony when they are deemed Incompetent. The Ceremony of the Inept is a quite depressing event. As you walk across the camp, you face the cold stares of your peers. You are a failure to the Clan, and you will be treated as such. You are slashed at, spit on, and forced to listen to their sneering remarks. As you make it to the Leader of the Warriors, he quickly preforms your demise. The body is dragged away to the Leader of Meals, and the Clan is at peace once more. Now with that over with, we get involved with the Leader of the Meals. With a Clan like this, you must make sure no cat starves and becomes incompetent. The final leader, the Leader of the Meals, is quite important. He or she and their deputy assign several hunting patrols throughout the day. They manage the prey inflow and make sure no cat goes hungry. They also prepare the bodies of the incompetent for feasting. If the leader fails to feed all cats or makes warriors and apprentices incompetent due to starvation, they are killed by their deputy, and the deputy assumes their previous position. Finally, the explanation of the leaders is complete. Honestly, I have to explain their rolls so often it gets boring. Medicine cats are one of the most important ranks to have. They deem apprentices and warriors incompetent, they heal the many battle wounds cats manage to get, and they are tremendous spies. The Clan of Night cannot attack a medicine cat, nor can they deny their access into the Clan’s camp. Medicine cats are spiritually connected; therefor they could have imperative information for the Clan of Night’s leader. Medicine cat apprentices are chosen immediately from birth, as long as they show no signs of sickness and are from a litter of more than two. Some say medicine cats can instantly tell if a kit will be their apprentice, others say it is a roll of luck. No cat will know for sure, medicine cats are extremely good at keeping secrets. Lastly, the Clan of the Night must be explained. Picture dozens of incompetent Apprentices decided independent thinking was key to living life to the fullest. Now imagine these cats growing stronger because of their disabilities. Finally visualize these strong, angry cats having kits of their own and raising them in their ways. This used to be the Clan of the Night. However they adapted to thriving when the sun lowered below the horizon. They began to battle the Clan of the Forest, after seasons of these nightly battles, the Leader of the Warriors decided it was best to schedule these battles. One every moon a battle would start, and in two days it would finish. The only time the battle would end early was when at least five cats were killed from either side, or if the injuries could gravely affect the Clan. Another pact was created between the two Clans, the Clan of the Night could roam the territory during the nighttime hours and the Clan of the Forest would reign over the land during the day. A fair trade, really. Keep in mind that even though how gruesome this may seem, it is absolutely normal for every cat in the Clan of the Forest. We were all raised to believe this. You may wonder why no cats rebel or why every cat doesn’t just join the Clan of the Night. The honest answer is that we’re all brainwashed. We don’t think what we’re doing is wrong or that fighting to the death with another Clan is horrific. Except for me… I finally grasped what was going to happen. It came to me that perhaps this was all wrong. So as this long drawn out explanation draws to an end, we begin the real story. The story of how I was deemed incompetent. Chapter One: Earliest Memory My earliest memory was when I was playing with my sister in the Nursery. The Nursery was large, usually quiet, and peaceful. It was under a low growing tree, protected with rows of brambles. The Leader of the Nursery would look around with loving eyes. She was always very protective, and much admired, almost like the Queen of Queens. She was not allowed to have kits of her own though, for being a Leader was far too much work to risk the moons of gestation and hours of painful labor. My mother, a shy yet strong orange tabby, wouldn’t let us near the other kits. I was born near Leaf-Bare, which means if any kits showed signs of being sick, my sister and could’ve caught whatever they had. Mother didn’t want that, she didn’t want us to be deemed incompetent before we even reached apprentice-hood. I remember tugging on my sister’s bright ginger tail as she giggled and pounced on me. Her name Heatherkit, and she was quite the outgoing little bundle of fluff. But she stopped and looked up while I was pinned under her tiny paws. I quickly pushed her off and straightened myself up as Mother sat behind up, following our gaze. The Leader of the Nursery had a solemn look on her face. Then I saw where her eyes were glancing at. It was Mother’s sister, Harebelly. Her tan fur was in a tangled mess, she hadn’t cleaned it due to extreme worry. One of her kits, Tumblekit, had gotten quite the cough that wasn’t getting better. The Leader of the Nursery padded over as all the queens and kits watched with a mix of fear and curiosity. The queens knew what was about to happen, however the kits were not taught what was going on. "Harebelly," the Leader of the Nursery inhaled deeply. The queens shuddered as her words echoed across the Nursery. "Momma, what’s going on..?" Heatherkit glanced up at Mother. She said nothing; she didn’t even glance down at my sister, for fear glazed her yellow eyes. "Please… I beg… It’s just a cough, honest. He isn’t sick, he’s in perfect health. I-" "Silence." The Leader of the Nursery had a cold tone. This was unusual and surprising to me, she always seemed so caring and passive. "Tumblekit is showing no signs of getting better. He is," she paused, "Incompetent." An array of gasps and painful whimpers rang from the queens. The kits knew some cats were deemed incompetent, sadly they had no idea what the word meant or the doom it would lead to. "No! No please… Please...!" Mother’s sister sobbed, Tumblekit mewed worriedly to his mother, not understanding why she was crying. The Leader of the Nursery raised her tail for silence. "Since he is not an apprentice, and therefor too young to be singled out from his family, you, Yarrowkit, Volekit, and Tumblekit are all deemed incompetent." She closed her eyes for a few brief moments. The conversation was over, the entire family was deemed incompetent. There was no more pleading or begging to be done, for it would do no good. "You are in luck; the Ceremony of the Inept is going on this night." The Leader of the Nursery added quietly. "At least you won’t have that long wait, right?" She turned swiftly, and made her way out. "Momma, what’s the Ceremony of the Inept?" Heatherkit mewed, still confused of the situation. "Neither of you are to go. It is against the Code." Mother shook her head, not answering my sister’s question. "Kits are to stay in the Nursery at all times. Now come on, it’s time to rest." She turned quickly. She thought I hadn’t seen the tear drop from her eye. My thoughts were a tangled mess, I didn’t understand, what did being incompetent mean? What was this Ceremony of the Inept? I might’ve heard about it before, but I don’t quite remember. That night I heard the jumbled voices from the camp as the queens and kits slept. I felt restless so I managed to creep out as my mom curled up around Heatherkit. I stayed low by the brambles, I was tiny and the shadows hid me well, I wasn’t worried about being caught. I watched as cats gathered, some I hadn’t even seen before. But I managed to catch sight of my Father; he was broad and looked bored, as if he’d seen this happen many times before. He visited every few days in the Nursery, which meant I didn’t see much of him. I longed to run out to him and ask what was going on, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t afford the chastising Mother would give me. Their meows were getting louder and I squinted my eyes. It was growing darker and I couldn’t see everyone as well as during the day. Too many cats were obscuring my view. Everyone was in camp; they couldn’t leave until the sun rose. That was the agreement made with the Clan of the Night, if we did leave, we’d be attacked by the roaming cats. My ears flattened as the cats began to chant loudly. Why did they have to yowl so loudly? Were they trying to awaken the kits and queens who were peacefully at rest? Suddenly it grew silent. As cats shuffled to get into better seating, I saw my kin, Tumblekit, Volekit, and Yarrowkit. They all looked terrified and let out high-pitched squeaks when insults were thrown their way by the warriors. Mother’s sister followed soundlessly behind them, her eyes blank and emotionless, as if she lost all hope. I was confused; I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. I saw him at the other side of the camp, the Leader of the Warriors. He seemed so full of pride and was always good spirited. Now he seemed as if the whole world was a void. His dark blue eyes were full of dissatisfaction and he looked up to Harebelly. "You should’ve been granted incompetent before you bestowed this horrible fate on your own kits," he hissed in her face as her three kits cowered by her paws. She stared him straight in the eyes, letting out a snarl. "These warriors have been brainwashed! They believe this is right! They think the Ceremony of the Inept is a casual pastime, they believe it to be merely be an act of entertainment!" She whipped her head to glare in my Father’s direction, as if to silently plead to my Mother’s mate for some sort of help. "Do you see no wrong in this? Is this how you want to live?" She let out a terrible, bloodcurdling gasp that pierced the silence. The Leader of the Warriors claws were stained red as blood splattered on the kits below. Their mother’s body gave a loud thud as it dropped to the ground. The kits screeched in terror as they tried to escape. Warriors were forced to intervene and drag them back. The small three bundles were dragged across the pool of their mother’s blood which poured from her throat. They sobbed and screamed loudly in horror. Several warriors let out laughs and nudged their friends as if this was amusing to them. Three quick swipes of the claws, and the three kits were soaked in blood like their mother. I was terrified. These were my kin, killed because of a simple cough Tumblekit occasionally let out. Their eyes were glazed and mouths gaping as a mixture of drool of blood leaked from their open jaws. "Summon the Leader of the Meals before they bleed dry." The Leader of the Warriors nodded to his deputy. The deputy dipped his head, and bounded off, passing by me quickly. I let out a sigh of relief since he didn’t spot me. But the relief was short-lived as I caught my father staring directly at me, his gaze unreadable. I raced back to the Nursery before I could face confrontation for breaking the Code, and curled up next to my mother. I sobbed silently into the fur of her belly. I couldn’t wipe the image of the Leader’s claws effortlessly gliding through the flesh of four innocent cats. But the words… The words Harebelly yowled out to the crowd. These warriors have been brainwashed! They believe this is right! Was this not right? Were the warriors truly brainwashed? I recalled them laughing to each other as the three kits’ bodies fell to the blood drenched ground. I was horrified of the scene, while nobody else shared the same fright I experienced. I slowly fell asleep, my tears drying against my fur as my heart rate slowed. It was over. I hoped I would never have to face a Ceremony of the Inept again. The words though, stuck with me forever. Chapter Two: Misunderstood “Claws!” I cringed at the harsh words of my mentor. She wasn’t usually like this, but I guess I crossed the line. You see, I’m quite opposed to fighting. I never liked the idea of slicing my claws against my own clanmates. Ever since I watched our Leader of the Warriors, Robinstar, rip his claws through the throats of my kin... I just never looked at fighting the same way again. Of course I couldn’t tell Berryfur, my mentor, this. She was strict to the rules, and any signs of incompetency I would show, she’d report. I already had to clean out the Nursery twice in the past Half-moon. All I did was get dirt in the moss I was collecting for nests. I always hated using my claws against my other apprentices. It was especially terrible when I had to fight with my sister. She never had a problem really, but I couldn’t manage to land a blow on her. I was too worried to hurt her. Yes, Heatherpaw was a strong she-cat who could take a few hits, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt my own littermate. “Falconpaw,” Berryfur sighed, and shook her head. “You do understand that you will never last a day in the next battle with the Clan of the Night.” I frowned. She always used to most stern words with me. At least Heatherpaw’s mentor didn’t lower her self-esteem every time he spoke. “I’m sorry,” I shuffled my paws, face growing hot. “Sorry doesn’t keep the Clan of the Night from killing you,” her mew was cruel. I couldn’t blame her. She only wanted me to survive. Berryfur just kept getting more worried for the upcoming battle with the Clan of the Night. We knew they were scheming new and much more extravagant battle plans for it. We could hear their whispers echo into our camp at night, catching the quiet words of their plans. Berryfur turned her head back to my training partner, Rowanpaw. He wasn’t much bigger than me, but did enjoy the idea of tearing his claws into my flesh. I stole half of his first mouse when he was a kit. It got me quite the scolding, and a petty grudge I’d never shake off. Songflower, Rowanpaw’s mentor, nodded to her apprentice. “Go easy on him.” She ordered. “If Rowanpaw goes easy on him, how will Falconpaw ever learn to defend himself?” Berryfur disagreed, her ears flattening against her head. “I’m just trying to make sure the medicine cats don’t have to tend to more wounds.” Songflower sighed, flicking her ginger tail. “The last time I let Rowanpaw at Falconpaw at full strength he missed his first Clan of the Night battle.” I looked away, embarrassed. I didn’t want to recall how Rowanpaw head-butted me, made me tumble to the ground, and sprain my paw. Alas, the terrible memories flooded back into my mind. One of our medicine cats, Softwind, told me I’d be okay in a few days. However the fear of being deemed incompetent engulfed all my thoughts. The medicine cat told me to lay off a few days of training to relax my mind. Which this only made me fear incompetency more. Not many apprentices fear incompetency. They don’t know what happens; they haven’t seen a Ceremony of the Inept. They don’t know how the cats are brutally murdered in front of the eyes of their own clanmates. Softwind didn’t know why I seemed so worried. She just expected me to be like any other apprentice; brainwashed and ignorant of my surroundings. Rowanpaw exhaled loudly. “Can I just try out the belly rake? I won’t scratch hard, I promise.” He begged, clearly eager to show off his newly learned move to Songflower. The ginger she-cat glanced towards me, her eyes showing skepticism. “I suppose,” she meowed, “but nothing a medicine cat would need to be involved in.” Songflower quickly added. Berryfur nodded in agreement. I quietly got into my battle stance. My shoulders were hunched, my belly gently scraping the tip of the grass. The hollow was quiet, the trees encircling it swished with the soft wind. My heart pounded against my chest, wondering if Rowanpaw was going to start. Quick as lightning, he zoomed towards me. I was off guard and toppled beneath his large paws. He hopped off, eyes angry. “You were supposed to let me get under you,” he hissed, his blue eyes narrowed. “Why can’t you do anything right?” His dark brown fur began to rise. I shook my head furiously. “Then try to slide under me next time!” I yelled back, claws unsheathing. “You pinned me down, you should’ve known better.” “Quit it you two!” Berryfur demanded. “We have no time for petty fights, get back into battle stances!” Rowanpaw stomped back to where Songflower was and quickly got into battle stance. More battered than before, I got into a sloppy battle stance, still trying to regain my breath. He sprinted straight towards me where I quickly raised my belly and pounced on him. I pinned him down as my claws pierced his broad shoulders. I never knew I’d enjoy causing Rowanpaw pain so much until I heard him squeak from under me. He looked pathetic and tiny beneath my paws. I had the upper hand and it felt so good. But then I cried out as his claws raked down my stomach. I felt like I might lose the few bites of squirrel I ate earlier. I fell to my side, squirming to my paws weakly. He didn’t do a simple scratch, but a painful strike a warrior would be proud of. Rowanpaw rose up and looked to Songflower, expecting praise. Her eyes glowed with admiration, but Berryfur let out an angry yowl. “You promised not to hurt him that much!” She scolded Rowanpaw. “I agree, the move was excellently preformed, but it was far more than a simple scratch,” Berryfur growled. The pride faded from Songflower’s eyes after seeing me with a blood soaked belly. The scratches weren’t extremely deep, but they still hurt badly. “Yes, Berryfur is right.” She sighed and padded over to me, letting her gentle muzzle touch my nose. “Just a few simple scratches, it’ll be okay.” Her voice calmed me. She knew my deep fear of incompetency, for she saw my worry when I sprained my paw nearly a moon ago. I struggled down to lick the wounds on my soft belly. It burned with a pain I’d never felt before. Yes, a sprained paw affected my walking, but I’d never felt pain like this. “You’ll clean out the Nursery tonight.” Songflower meowed to Rowanpaw sternly. “Fresh bedding will be collected before sundown. I expect you to begin this immediately.” Rowanpaw’s tail drooped as he shot me a harsh look and scampered off to get to work. You can’t do anything right! His words made his way back into my mind as Berryfur helped me back to camp. I tried to do things how everyone wanted me to. I always knew I seemed to be a bit of a disappointment, but it still hurt to hear someone tell me I was. Thicktail, a very quiet medicine cat, tended to my wounds. He told me I’d be fine and I’d be able to attend the upcoming battle. It wasn’t exactly music to my ears, but it was good to hear I wouldn’t face incompetency. As I came out of the medicine den, which was a large hollow tree stump with two separate burrows below, I quietly made my way to the freshly stocked pile of Fresh-kill. The Leader of the Meals always made sure it was stocked high so no cat would go hungry. I thanked the Clan of the Stars that there wasn’t any meat left from the last Ceremony of the Inept. No other apprentice knew what the meat was other than me. I heard the Leader of the Warrior’s words when I was a kit. Summon the Leader of the Meals before they bleed dry. Robinstar had ordered his deputy. It wasn’t exactly a terrifying idea to eat the meat of cats that were once alive, but it wasn’t very relaxing either. The meat was dry and tough, and tasted weird. But why let the meat go to waste? When you have to feed the Clan, you’ll get all the good meat you can get. Well I wouldn’t really call it good meat… I picked out a juicy vole to share with Heatherpaw. I saw her sitting by the apprentices’ den, which was right next to an overgrown bush, encircled with brambles like the Nursery. She was chatting with her friend, Palepaw. Being the only two she-cats to be apprentices, they were inseparable. However they did gossip a lot, which annoyed me to a high extent. “Hey, Falconpaw!” Palepaw giggled, looking down at my belly, which was bandaged with cobwebs. “I heard Rowanpaw really got you earlier!” I rolled my eyes and set the vole in front of my sister. Heatherpaw nudged me affectionately. “She’s only kidding.” The ginger she-cat purred. “Calm down a bit, you’re not gonna be incompetent just ‘cause of a few scratches.” Heatherpaw never really understood my worry. She didn’t know that if I was deemed incompetent, she’d never see me again. I’d vanish from her life without question. She’d be curious to where I went, but I’d fade from her memory soon enough. “I heard Firewhisker’s going to have three kits,” Palepaw smiled. Firewhisker was her mother, and this was the queen’s second litter. “The medicine cats already think this is a sign.” “A sign for what?” I meowed incredulously. Palepaw always knew the latest gossip, and it seemed mouse-brained to me she’d snoop into the business of others. Not to mention half the fox-dung she told us were just false rumors. Palepaw lifted a paw, giving it a quick lick and smirking. “The medicine cats think it’s a sign for medicine cat apprentices. Exactly three kits and they each need an apprentice. A match made by the stars!” “Oh, come on.” Heatherpaw snorted. “A match made by the stars? Do you seriously believe all this nonsense?” I nodded in agreement. Palepaw was always so entranced by the power of the Clan of the Stars. They couldn’t control the destiny of kits, for nothing was that strong. “What I’m excited about is the battle.” Heatherpaw added. “I had to miss the last one, didn’t want to make Falconpaw left out with his sprained foot.” “Why would you be excited? What if you get injured?” I worried aloud. “What if you die?” They all grew silent. Palepaw silently shook her head. “Falconpaw, the warriors usually don’t worry about apprentices… It’s just interesting to watch.” Her voice was soft and calming. “What’s interesting about seeing your clanmates dying? Tell me, what’s fun about that?” I screamed at them, tail lashing. I saw their stunned faces and turned away. It wasn’t worth it to explain my fear to them. They don’t know what it’s like to watch your own friends die before your very eyes. They’d never understand. Chapter Three: Different as Night and Day I licked the drips of water from my jaws, breathing in the moist Green-leaf air. The sun was going through its daily journey through the depths of the sky. My sister just finished gulping down the cooling waters of the stream, her eyes flooding with relief. She'd been complaining all day for me just to venture down to the stream for a cooling drink. The stream in camp wasn't as cool or fresh as the one near the Clan of Night's camp, for it was lapped out of by every cat in the Clan. "You ready to head back to camp?" Heatherpaw glanced around, clearly itching to get out of the area. "This place gives me the creeps. A Clan of Night cat could just pounce at me at any moment!" She let out a ferocious growl, imitating the ominous cats of the Clan of Night. I just gave her a small shrug. "I highly doubt they'd be ignorant enough to attack during the day. It's day, meaning the territory is ours." I spoke the words of the Code, but I still could feel as if someone were watching me. It was always a fear a Clan of Night cat would break Code and bring forth a bloody attack. Heatherpaw padded over, brushing her shoulder against mine. "The Clan of Night is full of Incompetency! Never doubt they're motives." She giggled, and began making her way to camp. However, in the midst of her tracks, the young she-cat paused. The ginger feline turned her head slightly, observing her brother’s face. “Best to get back to camp before sundown, eh?” She murmured, trying to keep her voice cheerful. "Better make the best of our day off from training." I studied her emotions, catching a glimpse of uneasiness in her large, green eyes. We always got at least a day of training off once a moon to prepare for the upcoming battle. “Yeah,” I paused, shaking out my fur, “sounds good.” Heatherpaw smiled, clearly feeling relieved that I finally decided to leave. Being so close to the Clan of Night’s camp obviously made her fur prickle. On the way back, I wondered why she seemed so spooked by the idea of the Clan of Night anyways. Were they truly as bad as the fables the warriors told to kits to spook them at sundown? If Heatherpaw was so bothered by the idea of the Clan of Night, why did she seem so eager to battle before? It felt like an eternity before we pushed ourselves through the bushes to enter camp. I could see cats gathering around the three leaders, sitting upon a tall mound of dirt. Legend has it that moons ago the warriors wondered who would become their new leaders after being leaderless for moons. The cats decided to build the mound, and the three who climbed to the top would choose their leadership role. It was a very unlikely myth that plenty of cats believed in. I wasn’t that gullible, leaders were chosen for their abilities, not how fast they could climb… I got see Robinstar, standing in the middle of the two other leaders. His eyes glistened with a pride only the Leader of the Warriors could obtain. I couldn’t manage to stare at his face for more than a few moments. The crippling fear returned once more. If I were to ever be deemed Incompetent, then our gratified leader would have my blood dripping from his claws. But my worry faded after catching the scent of Berryfur, her creamy brown pelt glittering in the dim light of the setting sun. She was chattering and laughing with Rowanpaw’s mentor, Songflower. The she-cat’s dark ginger fur clashed against the brown of Berryfur’s pelt, and the two stood out from the crowd. Berryfur had said my training was going quite well. I hadn’t had to train with Rowanpaw since the belly rake incident. Obviously, Berryfur didn’t want me chances of achieving warrior status to stagger, and Rowanpaw was just the tom to make sure of that. Instead, she decided Seedpaw would be a better training partner. The tom was a good fighter, of course, but he managed to make sure he didn’t harm me much in the training process. If my training continued to excel like this, then perhaps Incompetency wouldn’t be something I’d need to trouble myself about. I could feel another cat’s soft fur brush against my shoulder; I glanced to my side. My eyes settled on Palepaw’s pleasant face. She purred and flicked her tail to my left; in confusion I followed her gaze. “Dear Clan of Stars, why?” I groaned in disbelief. My only enemy in the Clan, Rowanpaw, was sitting right next to my sister, listening to her daily gossip. “What does she see in him?” Palepaw rolled her eyes at my annoyance, and gave a small laugh. “Actually, he began talking to her.” She pointed out, and I let out an exasperated sigh. "Just calm down," she meowed, resting her tail on my shoulder, "he isn't that bad anyways." I was about to give Palepaw a sour retort, until I heard the sounding call of the Leader of the Warriors. We all looked up to him, sharing his delighted and somewhat anxious gaze. Robinstar cleared his throat, his ears flattening as he turned from warm and kind to stern and cold. “Cats of the Clan of the Forest,” he yowled out, his cry echoing into the trees, “tonight is the night we bring pride to our ancestors! Tonight is where we march into the Clan of Night’s pitiful camp and tear their souls from their bodies!” Many cats let out battle cries of their own, excitement and bloodlust glittering in their icy eyes. He looked pleased at their yowls of agreement. Robinstar puffed out his chest and continued, the same determined expression was set on his face. “We will give it all we have tonight. The Clan of the Forest will bite, claw, and not give up to their final breath!” More meows of approval rang from the crowd. However, I felt a strange pang of fear. I hadn’t experienced what this battle would be like before. Palepaw told me the warriors of the Clan of Night wouldn’t bother apprentices, but how true could this be? They’d probably kill anybody in their path. I felt a sharp nudge in my flank and was shaken from my thoughts. I stared to my side, where Palepaw stood in annoyance. “Come on you lazy mouse!” She sighed, lashing her tail. “While you were off in Dreamland, Robinstar already began the journey to the Clan of the Night!” She began to scamper off after the warriors who were streaming out of camp. I follow quickly after her, searching the crowd for the familiar ginger coat of my sister. I couldn’t find her among the many large, fierce warriors. “Falconpaw!” I glanced behind, expecting to see my enthusiastic sister. Instead, my mentor was making her way towards me. “Falconpaw,” she repeated, shoving past a few angry looking warriors. “I need to talk to you.” I began padding on more slowly, dragging behind some of the cats as Berryfur finally got to my side. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what she needed. “What is it?” I mewed. Berryfur let out a sigh of relief, obviously trying to catch her breath from pushing past the crowd. “During the battle, I want you to stay near the other apprentices.” I blinked the noticeable hint of confusion from my eyes. “What do you mean? Do all the apprentices stay together?” “Of course!” Her eyes grew wide, as if this was information a kit would know. Category:Wetstream's Fanfictions Category:Incompetent